Xiaomi Redmi 4 Review: The Best Smartphone Under Rs. 10,000?

Xiaomi Redmi 4 is the company's latest model in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment. Unlike premium smartphones, budget phones seem to have shorter life cycles, and the Redmi series is the perfect example of this. The Xiaomi Redmi 3S (and Redmi 3S Prime) launched in India in August last year, and the company claims that they are the highest selling smartphones in the online segment, having sold four million units in just nine months. Despite this, the all-new Xiaomi Redmi 4 will soon replace the popular Redmi 3S (and Redmi 3S Prime).

Xiaomi has so far seen a string of successes with its Redmi range, with most models finding place in our periodic lists of the best budget phones. This new Xiaomi Redmi 4 will not only have to take on the competition, but also live up to its predecessor in a lot of ways, and it certainly seems like an improvement when it comes to specifications. Let's find out whether the phone is worth your time and money in our Xiaomi Redmi 4 review:

Xiaomi Redmi 4 design

When the Redmi 4 arrived at our office for the first time, we mistook it for a 'Lite' or smaller variant of the Redmi Note 4. You can see plenty of design similarities between the two. Jai Mani, Lead Product Manager at Xiaomi told Gadgets 360 at a pre-launch briefing that the Redmi 4's looks are consciously more in sync with the bigger Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Review). The all-metal back of the Redmi 4 is polished and makes this phone look more premium than its predecessor. However, it makes the phone slightly slippery, and we nearly dropped it a couple of times while trying to take photos during the review period.

There has not been much change to the basic Redmi formula. Much like the Redmi 3S, the Redmi 4 features a 5-inch screen. The new model, however, is slightly thicker at 8.65mm and heavier at 150 grams. The Redmi 3S measured 8.5mm and weighed at 144 grams. Overall the increase in thickness or weight doesn't change much for the Redmi 4 as the phone is still quite usable with just one hand, and in fact fits better in the hand than the outgoing model.